Quick answer
What is the NomineeName abuse policy?
As of October 2026, the NomineeName abuse policy acts on phishing, malware, botnets and fraud that takes money from victims within 24 hours of a well-documented report, and on child sexual abuse material immediately. Copyright, defamation, political or competitor complaints alone change nothing without a decision that binds us. Reports go to [email protected], no account needed.
Abuse handling at a glance
| Where to report | [email protected] — no account, no login, no form to fill |
|---|---|
| Acknowledgement | an automatic acknowledgement with a reference number |
| Phishing, pharming, malware, botnets, fraud that takes money from victims | Action within 24 hours of a well-documented report |
| Child sexual abuse material | Handled immediately, and the URLs are reported to NCMEC |
| Copyright, defamation, political or competitor complaints | No action on the complaint alone: it needs a decision that binds us, from a Panamanian court; a reply within 2 business days |
| Trademark disputes | Handled through the UDRP, as ICANN requires; the domain is locked within 2 business days of the dispute provider's request |
| Who receives the complaint | DomaineGoat LLC, the registrant of record shown in the registrant record and WHOIS/RDAP |
| Policy date | 8 October 2026, same rules for every domain; with Domain protection, a person also reads every complaint before any action |
| Public figures | Quarterly transparency report, first one in January 2027 |
Which abuse gets a domain suspended?
Five kinds of abuse lead to action on a well-documented report, with fixed target times. We call them the strict exceptions, and we write them openly so nobody has to guess.
NomineeName is a nominee domain registration service from Panama: every domain is registered in the name of DomaineGoat LLC by default, so the registration record and WHOIS show the company, never you — no ID, no KYC, paid in crypto. Registration in our name protects your identity. It does not protect the abuse listed below.
Strict exceptions and target times
| Abuse | What it covers | Target time to act |
|---|---|---|
| Phishing | Fake login pages, pharming, pages that collect passwords or card numbers | within 24 hours of a well-documented report |
| Child sexual abuse material | Any such content, on the site or linked from it | immediately, and the URLs are reported to NCMEC |
| Malware | Sites or files that spread malicious code | within 24 hours of a well-documented report |
| Botnets | Command-and-control domains for infected machines | within 24 hours of a well-documented report |
| Fraud that takes money from victims | Fake shops, investment and crypto scams, wallet drainers, impersonation of a bank or brand, sale of stolen data | within 24 hours of a well-documented report |
How do I report abuse on a NomineeName domain?
Send one email to [email protected]. No account or customer status is required: victims, banks, brands and researchers all write to the same address.
Write to [email protected]
Put the domain name and the kind of abuse in the subject line, for example: example.com — phishing.
Add the evidence
Give the full URL, the date and time you saw it (with time zone), and a screenshot or a file sample.
Receive a reference
You get an automatic acknowledgement with a reference number. Quote it if you send more evidence.
The report is checked
The URL and the evidence are checked against this policy. A confirmed strict exception leads to action within the target time.
We close the report
You get a reply with the outcome: suspended, not confirmed, or outside the strict exceptions.
What makes an abuse report well documented?
A well-documented report lets us confirm the abuse in a few minutes. Reports with only a domain name and an accusation take longer, because we must find the evidence ourselves.
Include what fits your case:
- The exact URL, not only the domain. Phishing kits often sit on a deep path.
- When you saw it: date, time and time zone. Phishing pages are often removed and restored.
- A screenshot of the page, or the phishing email with its full headers.
- For malware: a file hash or a link to a public scan result.
- For fraud: what the site sells or promises, how victims pay, and which bank or brand it imitates.
- Who you are, if you act for a brand, a bank or a security team. It is not required.
Why do abuse reports come to NomineeName and not to the domain owner?
Abuse reports come to us because the registrant record, WHOIS and RDAP name DomaineGoat LLC as registrant of record. Anyone who looks up the domain on lookup.icann.org sees our company, not the customer.
This means we decide, and we answer for our decision. We do not forward the reporter's email to the customer as a way to avoid a decision. We do not give the customer's identity to the reporter either: that follows the disclosure policy.
The customer stays the beneficial owner of the domain. When a domain is suspended under a strict exception, the customer can reply with evidence, and we review the case again.
Why is a copyright or defamation complaint not enough?
A complaint is one side of a dispute, so it is not enough on its own. No takedown on complaint alone: a copyright, defamation, political or competitor complaint needs a decision that binds us, from a Panamanian court. A DMCA notice is one example: we reply within 2 business days and explain this route.
A domain name is an address. The content sits with a hosting company, which is often the right place for a copyright notice. Suspending the domain would take down every page and every email of the site, including the parts nobody complains about.
Trademark claims about the name itself have their own procedure, the UDRP. Read UDRP and nominee domains. This is not legal advice.
What does ICANN require from a domain service about abuse?
ICANN requires registrars to act promptly on well-documented DNS abuse. Amendments to the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA, section 3.18) took effect on 5 April 2024. They cover malware, botnets, phishing, pharming, and spam when it carries one of these.
Every NomineeName domain is registered through our ICANN-accredited registrar partner, so these rules apply to every domain we hold. ICANN enforces them. In its first months of enforcement, ICANN reported 192 investigations and more than 2,700 domains suspended.
ICANN also shows what happens to a registrar that delays. On 27 August 2026 it sent a notice terminating the accreditation of Trustname. The notice says Trustname asked for proof that passwords had been stolen before acting on phishing, and acted weeks after reports. Our strict exceptions and target times exist so that this never describes us.
Does Domain protection change how abuse is handled?
Domain protection adds a human review before any action, not an exception to this policy. The option costs $29 per year per domain, on top of the domain price, and adds exactly three things:
- a transfer lock on by default, with every transfer or DNS change confirmed from your account;
- minimal data: DomaineGoat LLC holds only your email;
- every complaint read by a person before any action on the domain, with notice to you when the law allows.
That review exists only with the option. Without it, complaints follow this policy as written above. The target times do not change: phishing, malware, botnets and fraud within 24 hours of a well-documented report, child sexual abuse material immediately. Details are on the Domain protection page; prices are on the pricing page.
What happens with false or bad-faith abuse reports?
A report that does not show abuse leads to no action. We reply and say what is missing, so a real victim can come back with evidence.
Some reports use the abuse address to remove a competitor or a critic. Calling a review site phishing does not make it phishing: the report is checked against the page itself. Repeated bad-faith reports from the same sender are counted in the transparency report as complaints refused without a court decision.
Abuse reports: FAQ
Do I need a NomineeName account to report abuse?
No. Send an email to [email protected] with the domain, the URL and your evidence. You receive an automatic acknowledgement with a reference number. Anyone can report: a victim, a bank, a brand, a security researcher or a hosting company. You do not need to say who you are, but it helps us reach you if we need more evidence.
How fast is a phishing domain suspended?
Phishing, pharming, malware, botnets and fraud that takes money from victims are acted on within 24 hours of a well-documented report. Child sexual abuse material is handled immediately, and the URLs are reported to NCMEC. These are target times for reports that let us confirm the abuse. A report with no URL or no evidence takes longer. In a UDRP case, the domain is locked within 2 business days of the dispute provider's request.
Will you tell me who owns the domain?
No. An abuse report leads to action on the domain, not to disclosure. We release the data we hold only when Panamanian law requires it (a Panamanian court or prosecutor's order), or in a UDRP case. See the disclosure policy.
Can a DMCA notice take down a NomineeName domain?
Not on its own. A DMCA notice is a complaint under US law, and copyright complaints need a decision that binds us, from a Panamanian court, before we act on the domain. We reply within 2 business days. Send the notice to the hosting company of the site, which controls the content. Trademark disputes about the domain name itself go through the UDRP.
Does registration in your name protect a phishing site?
No. Registration in our name keeps the customer out of the registry and WHOIS. It does not change the strict exceptions. Phishing, malware, botnets and fraud that takes money from victims are acted on within 24 hours of a well-documented report, and child sexual abuse material immediately, with or without Domain protection.
Can a suspended customer appeal?
Yes. The customer can reply to the suspension notice with evidence, for example proof that a hacked page was cleaned. We review the case again. For child sexual abuse material, the URLs are also reported to NCMEC, the US clearing house for such reports.
Where can I see how many reports you handled?
In the quarterly transparency report. The first report comes out in January 2027 and covers launch to 31 December 2026. It counts reports by category, suspensions, complaints refused without a court decision and data requests by origin. We publish no figure before a period closes.
Sources (5)
- 2024 Global Amendments to the Base gTLD Registry Agreement and the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement — ICANN (checked 2026-10-19)
- Advisory: Compliance with DNS Abuse Obligations in the Registrar Accreditation Agreement and the Registry Agreement — ICANN (checked 2026-10-19)
- ICANN's DNS Abuse Mitigation Program: Key Updates — ICANN (checked 2026-10-19)
- Notice of termination of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (Trustname), 27 August 2026 — ICANN (checked 2026-10-19)
- 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement and specifications — ICANN (checked 2026-10-19)
Seen abuse on one of our domains?
Write to [email protected] with the URL and your evidence. No account needed.